Knockout
by onehandfeel
Summary: Kyra Quinn wasn't supposed to be sent on a suicide mission to Earth along with one hundred juvenile delinquents. She was just an engineer - she wasn't a criminal. But being in the wrong place at the wrong time has its consequences, and soon enough, Kyra is forced to deal with everything the ground has to offer.
1. The Ground

**The Ground**

"Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and it's beauty." - Albert Einstein.

* * *

"_Chancellor Jaha has approved a mission to Earth. He's sending the juvenile prisoners to the ground." ... "It's doubtful those kids will survive." ... "What do I have to do?" ... "Kill the Chancellor."_

* * *

It was usually cold on the Ark. But then again, when you're floating in space in what is really just a glorified tin can, you can't exactly expect to stay warm. Unless, of course, you were Kyra Quinn, who was currently running through the metal corridors as fast as her legs could carry her... That usually warms you up pretty fast.

Pounding footsteps were quickly catching up with her but despite the pain that was appearing in her abdomen and her lungs that were working in overtime, she pushed herself further and further. She had almost reached her room, could see the familiar door taunting her in the distance, when a large hand grabbed her arm and pulled her back with a hard tug. The box the girl was holding fell to the ground.

"Where do you think you're going?" Shumway asked as he roughly shoved Kyra against the wall. The girl winced on impact and noted that she had probably just gained a bruise along her back.

"To my room?" Kyra questioned, her breathing erratic. "It's kind of where I live."

Wrong move. Shumway tightened his grip on the young adult's wrist and she squirmed in a failed attempt to free herself. If his grip got any tighter, she was sure she would earn herself a trip to the medical station.

"How much did you hear?" He demanded.

"Enough to know that you're a goddamn psychopath," she retorted angrily. "Tricking some poor guy into doing your dirty work by telling him that you can get him to the ground? That big, deadly, _radiation-soaked _ground? You know they'll all die down there and you're willing to send _another one_?"

"Another two," the older man smirked. "Looks like you'll be going down with them."

"What are you talking about?" Kyra frowned. Her fear was growing but she did her best to keep it at bay. "I'm 21 years old and I'm not a criminal!"

"Well, it's either that or I kill you. But that option is just messy. Plus, I'm sure Griffin and your dumb-ass boss would notice your absence... This way is just easier for us both." Shumway shrugged. "And I know you're not gonna tell a goddamn soul about this, because if you do, you know I'll find out."

"You can't do this!" The brunette thrashed. She didn't deserve this. She had never doing any wrong by the Ark, had always done her job, had (mostly) held herself together after her father's death. And now, after all her hard work, she was being sent to Earth where she would more than likely be burnt to a crisp from the inside out. The thought made the back of her eyes burn with unshed tears.

"Watch me."

When Kyra regained consciousness after being knocked out by Shumway's goddamn weapon, her head felt muddled and foggy. It took her a few moments to realise that she was longer in the hallway, nor was she in her room. It took her yet another moment to notice the red harness that was strapping her into her seat.

With wide eyes, the frantic girl looked around only to find dozens of teenagers - no, _criminals _\- from the Ark in the exact same position. Her wrist still ached from the tight grip the guard had on her and her stomach dropped as she remembered the moments that led up to her inevitable death.

* * *

_The day had started off pretty simply. Kyra had just woken up, had a quick breakfast, and was making her way to work when she bumped into Abby Griffin._

"_Kyra! Are you on your way to work?" The mother of one asked politely, her hands holding a box of medical supplies._

"_Yeah, why? Is there something you need?"_

"_Do you mind these back to Ark Station Medical on your way? If it's not too much trouble, I mean," Abby asked, holding the box out with a hopeful look on her face. "You'd really be helping me out."_

_Kyra pretended to ponder over the request before she took the box with a small smile and a nod. "No problem. I'll drop it off for you."_

"_You're a life saver." Abby grinned as Kyra walked off in the other direction with a salute._

"_Tell me something I don't know!"_

_But of course, luck just wasn't on her side that morning. On her way to Ark Station Medical, Kyra just so happened to hear a conversation between two males that made her stop in her tracks. She recognised one of the voices as Shumway - the not-so-friendly guard - but she couldn't place the other voice in the room. A slight nagging at the back of her mind had told her that she knew that voice - had heard it before - but who it belonged to remained a mystery._

_As the conversation was reaching an end, Kyra stumbled back in shock and a metal needle fell from the box she was holding. Kyra held her breath, hoping - praying - that the pair hadn't heard the clatter. Maybe they would just assume it was the vents - they made strange noises from time to time. But no._

_They heard._

_And she ran._

* * *

The loud mutterings from those around her quietened down, causing Kyra to break herself out of her reverie. A screen came to life, showing the familiar image of Chancellor Jaha.

"Prisoners of the Ark, hear me now," he began. _Prisoners of the Ark and one innocent girl,_ Kyra thought bitterly. "You've been given a second chance, and as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us; indeed, for mankind itself."

As he spoke, Kyra took in her surroundings, noticing a few familiar faces with either a confused, scared, or extremely pissed off expression. She recognised a few people she used to see around the Ark from time to time, including the Chancellor's son and... _Clarke Griffin? _

Kyra knew the girl was a prisoner - had actually been there when she was arrested - but the thought of possibly seeing her on this suicide mission had escaped her mind. Well, at least she would be dying with a friend.

With a frustrated sigh, the nervous and agitated girl turned back to Chancellor Jaha's announcement. She was dimly aware of Clarke's eyes burning into the side, having heard her noise of discontent and wanting to know the source.

"Kyra?" Clarke asked in disbelief. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

Kyra shrugged weakly, her brain scampering to find an excuse for being on the ship. _Surprise?_ No, that was weak. _I was attacked by a mad man and forced to burn to death on the ground?_ Nope, couldn't say that either. Just as she had opened her mouth to swiftly change the subject, her eyes were drawn to the metal band that was now secured around her wrist.

"What?" Kyra muttered to herself. _When did that get there?_

"It's so they can track our vitals," Clarke explained to the confused girl. "It's basically their way of seeing how we'll react to the Earth, whether we'll die or not." _Oh, cheerful._

"We have no idea what is waiting for you down there," the Chancellor continued, grabbing Kyra's attention and simply filling the viewers with confidence... Yeah, right. "If the odds of survival were better, we would've sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you expendable.

The girl scoffed, just as an unknown boy shouted, "Your dad is a dick, Wells!"

Kyra liked Wells. He was always kind to her whenever they spoke and she didn't blame his father for locking up so many of her friends over the years. Not completely, anyway. A part of her was angry at the older man and the other half just didn't care. She knew some of them had committed a crime, after all. But listening to him explain that they were potentially being sent to their deaths and that it didn't really matter because they were of little significance anyway made her think that yeah, maybe Chancellor Jaha was a bit of a dick.

The look on Wells' face hardened as the Chancellor continued.

"These crimes will be forgiven, your records wiped clean."

_Well, obviously, _she thought bitterly. _If we all died down here, their crimes wouldn't matter. Neither would we, apparently._

"Spacewalk bandit strikes again!" Called a voice, drawing everyone's attention away from the Chancellor on screen.

"Go Finn!"

Kyra turned towards the cheers to see a guy in a green beanie floating through the air, after clearly deciding that he didn't want nor need his harness. Kyra disagreed. She clung onto her own harness for dear life.

The guy - Finn - moved with ease, coming to a stop in front of Clarke and Wells.

"Check it out," Finn grinned at Wells. "Your dad floated me after all."

Kyra held back a snort of laughter.

Wells shook his head, choosing to ignore the previous comment. "You should strap in before the parachutes deploy."

More cheering came from the right of the Exodus ship as two more guys - boys, really - began to unbuckle their harnesses.

"Hey, you two!" Clarke called out to them. "Stay put if you want to live."

They ignored her - just as the Kyra had predicted. They seemed to be at that point in their lives where they thought they knew better than everyone else, and if that's how they wanted to be then so be it. Kyra wasn't going to waste her breath when she knew her words were only going to fall on deaf ears.

"Hey, you're the traitor who's been in solitary for a year." Finn grinned at Clarke, effectively pulling the girl's attention away from the two stubborn boys.

"You're the idiot who wasted a month of oxygen on an illegal spacewalk." Clarke replied, not looking impressed in the slightest.

"But it was fun," he shrugged carelessly. "I'm Finn."

"Your one responsibility is to stay alive," the recording of Jaha continued.

Clarke didn't answer. Instead, she chose to berate the other two floaters once more.

The brunette onlooker rolled her eyes, her mind already thinking of several sarcastic comments to make when the Exodus dropship suddenly gave a large jerk, succeeding in both scaring the shit out of her, and causing the floating boys to crash straight into the side of the ship.

Kyra winced, her knuckles beginning to turn white from holding onto her harness so tightly. She was dimly aware of the heated conversation occurring between Clarke and Wells, the screams coming from her peers, and the sparks coming from inside the dropship itself, but she couldn't bring herself to focus on one of them.

She was just wanting to survive the landing.

The landing quite literally went out with a bang as the ship gave one more violent shake before going completely still and silent. The engines died down and all of the screaming - and arguing - stopped.

"Listen," said one of the boys in her row after a moment, "no machine hum."

"That's a first." His friend lightly joked.

That was when everyone decided to unbuckle their harnesses and race to the doors; the silence from both the ship and the outside clearly being taken as a good sign. The young adult gladly followed suit - albeit slightly shakily - taking off her harness and following the sea of people in front.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Finn crouch down in front of his fellow floaters who hadn't moved since they were thrown into the wall. Kyra had assumed that they were unconscious.

She was wrong.

"Finn, are they breathing?" Clarke asked worriedly.

A grim, slightly guilty, shake of his head gave her her answer.

"The outer door is on the lower level. Let's go!"

Frowning at the scene in front of her, the prisoner tore herself away and followed her peers down the ladder towards the doors, Kyra trailing behind apprehensively. A man in a guards uniform stood in front of them and Kyra's heart lurched._ Had Shumway sent him?_

"Hey, just back it up, guys." The guard said, holding out his arm to keep the crowd calm. Kyra's eyebrows scrunched together slightly as she studied his voice.

"Stop!" Clarke yelled, pushing her way through the sea of people to the very front. Kyra rolled her eyes at the dramatics. "The air could be toxic."

"If the air is toxic, we're all dead, anyway." The guard stated.

Kyra nodded, and although she hated agreeing with a guard, spoke up. "He's right," she said, drawing attention to herself and avoiding Clarke's gaze in the process. "We either stay in here and die of starvation and dehydration, or we take a chance and go outside," Kyra paused to shrug, "I know which one I would prefer."

The guard nodded in agreement, turning to pull the lever that would open the doors and basically set them free.

"Bellamy?" A gentle voice said from somewhere in the crowd. Kyra watched as a girl with long brown hair - darker than her own - and a shocked expression stepped forward.

"She knows the guard?" Kyra muttered quietly to Finn who stood beside her.

"My god," the guard - correction: _Bellamy _\- said when he turned to face her. The guy smiled and Kyra paused to appreciate the sight. She hated herself for admiring a guard but after all; she hadn't seen many good-looking guys in her time. "Look how big you've gotten."

_Wait, what?_ Kyra frowned. _Creepy, dude._

The pair rushed forward to embrace.

"What the hell are you wearing?" The girl asked as she pulled back from the hug. "A guard's uniform?"

Kyra raised an eyebrow slightly. So... he _wasn't _a guard?

"I borrowed it to get on the drop ship," he explained simply with a slight chuckle and Kyra's stomach dropped. The voice, the sneaking on the drop ship... _Was this who Shumway was tricking?_ "Someone's gotta keep an eye on you."

The somewhat sweet moment - Kyra couldn't really comment until she knew the ins and outs of the situation - was ruined when Clarke spoke up. "Where's your wristband?"

_Well, if he snuck onto the ship then he obviously wouldn't have one, _Kyra thought. _But then again, she wasn't supposed to be here and she had a wristband. Damn Shumway._

"Do you mind?" The girl swirled round to glare at Clarke in annoyance. "I haven't seen my brother in over a year." Kyra did a double take. Now she knew who the pair in question were. The Blake siblings. The youngest, Octavia, had been hidden under the floorboards until she was eventually discovered and then forced to spend a year in prison, up until this very day. Kyra frowned. _Poor girl._

"No one has a brother!" A male voice called from somewhere near the back of the crowd. That was true, at least. Having a sibling wasn't a very common occurrence on the Ark. Mainly because it was illegal.

"That's Octavia Blake; the girl they found hidden in the floor!" A female replied.

Octavia growled and lunged forwards, clearly intending to maim , or at the very least seriously injure, the gossiping teens.

"Octavia! Octavia, no!" Her brother said, his voice deepening as he wrapped his arms around the girl's waist and held her back. "Let's give them something else to remember you by."

"Yeah? Like what?" She asked with a sharp tone.

"Like being the first person on the ground in a hundred years." Bellamy suggested with a growing grin.

Octavia grinned in return as she watched her brother turn again to open the door. Nobody could turn down that offer. As the door opened wide, Kyra blinked at the bright light that entered the dropship. There was so much colour, so much fresh air. It was just like she had imagined, and so much more.

It was beautiful.

Octavia's steps were hesitant, but when she finally reached the ground and heard the leaves crunch underneath her weight - a sound none of them had ever heard before and that was, quite frankly, music to their ears - she threw her arms up in the air and yelled loudly.

"We're back, bitches!"


	2. Welcome to the New Age

**Welcome to the New Age**

"I'm waking up to ash and dust, I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust. I'm breathing in the chemicals." - Imagine Dragons.

* * *

Kyra's legs shook slightly as she took her first steps onto the real life ground. The leaves crunched beneath her feet, her eyes were still adjusting to the bright sky, and the excited cheering and chattering from her peers rang in her ears. The cold, crisp fresh air entered Kyra's lungs as she breathed and an airy laugh left her lips. Her first real laugh in years.

She didn't know where to start. Some of the criminals were running off in different directions, dying to explore, but Kyra didn't want to risk getting lost just yet. Instead, she chose to wander slowly over to the line of trees that surrounded them. Tentatively, she reached out and stroked the bark of the trunk, her fingertips brushing against the damp moss that was slowly growing over it. She'd read about trees before. Apparently, they created the oxygen that they would now be breathing. Not oxygen like that stale stuff they made on The Ark, but real, fresh oxygen.

"How does it feel?" Said a voice from behind.

Kyra froze. _Did Bellamy know she was the one listening to his conversation that morning? Did Shumway warn him about her?_ Shaking her head slightly, she turned to face him.

"It's... surreal." She answered truthfully.

Bellamy blinked and gave a slight shake of his head, as if reminding himself about the current situation. "You should head back to the drop ship now and stop messing around. We can't risk losing anybody."

Kyra scoffed. She was one of the closest people to the drop ship. Why wasn't he trying to assert his authority some place else?

"Hey, screw you!" Kyra called after him as he walked away. "You're not a real guard, you don't get to tell me what to do!"

"Fine," he called back over his shoulder with a shrug, "just starve then."

To prove a point - both to herself and Bellamy - Kyra stayed a little while longer by the trees, enjoying the new views and experiences. She ignored the argument between the Blakes and Clarke, and she ignored the jeering that came from the almost-fight with Wells and some random guy she didn't know with bug eyes.

When she finally rejoined the group, she heard Finn speaking.

"So, Mount Weather.," he said, "when do we leave?"

"Right now." Clarke answered simply. "We'll be back tomorrow with food."

"How are the two of you gonna carry enough food for one hundred?" Wells frowned.

"More like ninety eight." Kyra said as she stopped at a spot next to Finn, who swallowed deeply at the reminder. The brunette noticed Clarke's gaze flicker to her and ignored it. She couldn't answer any of the questions the younger girl had.

Finn shook his head, glancing around before grabbing two guys that Kyra recognised from their brief time inside the drop ship. "Five of us. Can we go now?"

Kyra did a double take. So she was involved now? The girl bit her bottom lip and weighed out her options. Stay with the others and possibly end up punching Bellamy in the face, or go with the smaller group and explore a little more? She chose the latter. After all, she could just do her best to ignore Clarke.

"Sounds like a party," came a voice from the left. They turned to see Octavia with a small smirk on her lips, "make it six."

Clarke stepped forward then, grabbing Finn's outstretched arm and gesturing to his wristband. "Hey," she said sharply, "were you trying to take this off?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, this wristband transmits your vital signs to The Ark," Clarke replied heatedly. "Take it off, and they'll think you're dead."

"Should I care?" Finn replied which caused Kyra to smirk. Clarke hated when people challenged her.

"Well, I don't know," the blonde said, "do you want the people you love to think you're dead? Do you want them to follow you down here in two months? Because they won't if they think we're dying."

Finally, the pair's discussion came to a close and after Octavia got her brother's consent, the group headed off on their journey.

* * *

"Now, that, my friend, is game." Said the boy with goggles on his head that Kyra had discovered was named Jasper. He and his friend Monty were currently watching Finn place a purple flower behind Octavia's ear, with Kyra just behind them.

"That, my friend, is poison sumac." Monty replied simply.

"What?" Octavia screeched, grabbing the flower and throwing it away. "It is?"

"The flowers aren't poisonous," Monty explained as Kyra snorted, "they're medicinal; calming, actually."

As the others continued to talk - with Clarke growing more and more annoyed, much to Kyra's amusement - Kyra wandered past the group and continued on forward. Her steps faltered slightly as she saw a flicker of movement up ahead and she gasped in surprise at the sight of a deer. She had never seen a live animal before and the deer was beautiful.

Carefully and quietly, Kyra stepped closer and knelt down just behind a rock to watch the animal. Slowly, the rest of her group formed around her to watch the animal.

"No animals, huh?" Finn said quietly to Clarke before accidentally disturbing the peaceful scene by standing on a fallen twig.

The sudden noise caused the deer's head to turn towards the group and the group of six gasped, jumping back in surprise.

Kyra's eyes widened as she took in the revolting sight of the gore-ridden deer. It was truly nightmare-worthy and nobody moved until after the deer sprinted off happily. The brunette's body was still frozen in place as the rest of the small group stood up and a gentle tap on the shoulder from Jasper is what got her to move on.

"Let's keep moving." Clarke snapped.

* * *

"Hey, you know what I'd like to know?" Finn asked as the handful of the hundred continued their journey through the forest, "Why send us down today after ninety seven years? What changed?"

"Who cares? I'm just glad they did. I woke up rotting in a cell, and now I'm spinning in a forest." Octavia smiled, spinning round with her arms outstretched. Kyra noticed her smile fall slightly when Finn walked past without giving her any attention.

"The Ark is dying," Clarke said, acting like a dark cloud of the happy mood that had settled amongst them. "At the current population level, there's roughly three months left of life support - maybe four now that we're gone."

Finn wandered up to Clarke's side. "So that was the secret they locked you up to keep? Why they kept you in solitary and floated your old man?"

"My father was the engineer who discovered the flaw. He thought the people had a right to know. " Clarke explained. "The Council disagreed. My mother disagreed. They were afraid it would cause a panic. We were gonna go public, anyway, when Wells..."

"What? Turned in your dad?" Finn asked.

"Anyway, the guard showed up before we could. That's why today. That's why it was worth the risk. Even if we all die, at least they bought themselves more time."

Kyra found herself frowning in between Monty and Jasper as the conversation continued.

"They're gonna kill more people, aren't they?"

Octavia shrugged at the thought. "Good. After what they did to me, I say float 'em all."

Kyra then tuned out of the conversation as the walk continued. Truthfully, she was tired and hungry which caused her to trip over her feet quite a few times (she was saved by either Monty or Jasper, thankfully), but she wasn't going to stop now. Even if she wanted to, she didn't know her way back.

The sound of a splash caused Kyra's head to jerk up and her eyebrows raised when she saw Octavia standing in a crystal clear river.

"Oh, damn, I love Earth." Jasper grinned, causing Kyra to playfully give him a chastening slap on the back of his head.

"Wait," Clarke said, "there's not supposed to be a river here."

"Well, there is," Finn grinned, "so take off your damn clothes. That includes you, Kyra."

While the others were focused on stripping off the clothes with the intention of following Octavia, Kyra stayed put. She had never swam before, and even though the water was shallow enough for her to stand, she still didn't feel comfortable with the situation.

"Octavia, get out of the water." Jasper said urgently, breaking Kyra out of her thoughts.

"Get out of the water now!" Clarke repeated as a dark shadow could be seen in the water, making it's way towards Octavia.

Octavia screamed and both Jasper and Kyra rushed forward to try and get to her. Meanwhile, Clarke, Finn and Monty focused on pushing a boulder into the water. They were going by Clarke's logic that "If we distract it, it might let her go."

In his panic, Jasper stripped off his jacket and dove straight into the water, grabbing Octavia and planning on getting her to safety as soon as possible. The river was now tainted with red as blood came from the youngest Blake's leg and Kyra held out her arms to help the pair back on to land.

"Good job, Jasper." She smiled as she wrapped Octavia's previously discarded jacket back around her shoulders.

Jasper smiled in acknowledgement and Octavia dove forward to wrap her arms around her saviour.

"Thank you, thank you." She breathed heavily.

"Note to self," Monty started, "next time; save the girl."

The exhausted group shared a moment of laughter. They were all safe... For now, at least.

* * *

"Come on, wimp. Get moving." Kyra urged Finn with a grin on her face as they stood on the edge of a cliff.

Finn turned and gave her an amused, unimpressed look which only caused her to laugh harder.

"You wanted to go first," Clarke added on, which made Kyra nod vigorously in agreement. "Now quit stalling."

"Mount Weather awaits." Octavia added.

"Just hang on till the apogee, and you'll be fine." Jasper advised.

"The apogee like the Indians, right?" Asked Finn.

Jasper raised a brow. "Apogee, not apache."

"He knows," Clarke rolled her eyes. "Sometime today, Finn."

"Aye, aye, captain," Finn moved forward slowly and grabbed onto the hanging vine. "See you on the other side."

"Wait," Jasper said after Finn continued to drag out the moment, most likely in fear of injuring himself or making himself look stupid.

"What?"

"Let me. I can do it."

"I knew there was a badass in there somewhere." Octavia smiled which caused Jasper to laugh nervously and grip the vine tighter.

"Hey, it's okay to be afraid, Jasper," Finn said, giving Jasper a pat on the back. "The trick is not fighting it."

Jasper took a deep breath to calm his nerves and shrugged, spitting out a "see you on the other side" before swinging his way across.

The group cheered a chorus of "Yeah!" and "You did it, Jasper!" as the boy celebrated on his own side.

"Yeah!" He screamed joyfully. "We are apogee!"

Kyra laughed in amusement at his actions as he bent down to pick up a sign and held it up excitedly for them.

**MOUNT WEATHER. KEEP OUT.**

"We did it! Mount Weather!" Jasper yelled excitedly.

"Yeah, Jasper!" Kyra grinned as she applauded the brave and slightly nutty boy.

Monty chimed in with a cheer before the mood dropped instantly as a spear flew out from behind the group and stuck straight into Jasper's chest. They all froze, their mouths open in shock and their bodies unmoving.

Jasper's eyes were wide, though whether it was from pain or surprise or perhaps a mixture of both, Kyra wasn't sure. The girl stepped into action, taking a step towards the vine in order to get to injured boy but was pulled back by strong arms wrapping around her waist.

"What are you doing?" She screeched as Finn pulled her behind a rock with the others. His arms remained in place as she continued to writhe. "We need to help him!"

"We need to get out of here." Finn corrected.

"But -"

"We'll come back for him. Just keep quiet and stay down, okay?" He said. When she gave a small nod, his grip loosened.

"What was that?" Octavia asked in fear, to which Clarke summed up all of their thoughts in one sentence.

"We're not alone."

* * *

**A/N: So I couldn't make out all of the writing on the sign and had to leave a sentence out... Whoops.**


	3. Of Followers and Leaders

**Of Leaders and Followers**

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." - John C. Maxwell.

* * *

"Run!"

"I am running!"

"Then run faster!"

Kyra's shoulder was being weighed down by Octavia's arm - the girl was already slow, but then she had tripped over a tree root and Kyra would be damned if she let anyone else get hurt - as they quickly made their way back through the forest while trying to ignore the sarcastic quips coming from the others in the group that had been going on since Jasper's injury. Octavia was depending heavily on Kyra - Monty had offered to help but Kyra had told him to "just run goddammit" - which meant that the two girls were now lagging behind due to the gash on the female Blake's thigh.

"We're almost there - just move!" Kyra yelled at the bickering pair as the trees parted in opening and the cheers and yelling from the rest of the hundred grew louder.

"What the hell is going on?" Octavia questioned.

"Wells!" Clarke screeched as she ran forward. "Let him go!"

"A lot, apparently." Kyra muttered in response as she continued to carry Octavia forwards. The sound of a panicked voice caused the girls to look up.

"Octavia!" Bellamy said in concern as he rushed out of the commotion and took his younger sister from Kyra's arms, leading her over to a fallen tree trunk. "Are you all right?" At her nod, he continued with his questions. "Where's the food?"

"Not here." Kyra muttered bitterly.

"We didn't make it to Mount Weather." Octavia elaborated.

Bellamy looked up to the rest of the group in confusion, "What the hell happened out there?"

"We were attacked." Clarke replied.

"Attacked? By what?"

"Not what," Finn started, "_w__ho_. It turns out, when the last man from the ground died on the Ark? He wasn't the last Grounder."

"It's true," Clarke carried on, sounding more distressed by the minute, "everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. There are people here; survivors."

"At least that means we'll be able to survive," Kyra added in a hopeful tone. "Radiation won't kill us."

"Yeah," Finn agreed, "the bad news is the Grounders will."

"Jasper was already hit," Kyra explained. At Bellamy's confused expression, she rolled her eyes and added, "the kid with the goggles - the Grounders took him."

"Wait," Clarke frowned, stepping forward and tugging up Wells' sleeve, "where's your wristband?"

"Clarke, shouldn't we be focusing on Jasper right now?" Kyra pleaded.

"How many?" Clarke continued, choosing to focus on the bug-eyed kid Kyra had yet to learn the name of.

"Twenty four and counting. "He replied with what could only be described as a smug grin.

"You idiots!" Clarke snapped. "Life support on the Ark is failing. That's why they brought us down here. They need to know the ground is survivable again, and we need their help against whoever is out there. If you take off your wristbands, you're not just killing them. You're killing _us_!"

"We're stronger than you think! Don't listen to her." Bellamy retorted in an attempt to win the crowd. "she's one of the privileged. If they come down, she'll have it good. How many of you can say the same? We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm? It makes you a prisoner. We are not prisoners anymore!" _We?_ Kyra scoffed. _You were never a prisoner, sunshine. _"They say they'll forgive your crimes. I say you're not criminals! You're fighters, survivors! The Grounders should worry about us!"

That did it. The crowd erupted into cheers at the idea of finally being free and it was obvious by Bellamy's smirk that Clarke had lost this round.

"Who died and made you leader?" Kyra asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.

The grinning Bellamy who was all but basking in his glory turned to face the brunette. "I'm sorry, were you talking to me?"

"Oh, no, sorry," Kyra said with a flippant smile. "I was talking to the other jackass who just gave a bullshit speech that could potentially kill all of us."

Bellamy looked down at the girl in amusement. "Who are you again?"

"Kyra Quinn," she replied with a simple shrug before pointing casually towards him, "and you're Shumway's bitch." Well, cat's out of the bag.

Bellamy's eyes widened slightly in fear as he took a glance around at the rest of the hundred. Nobody else was paying attention to the pair of young adults and so he forced his expression back into a passive look. "What did you say?"

"Why don't we talk somewhere else?" Kyra suggested, gesturing with a nod of her head towards the edge of the woods where, thankfully, nobody else was standing. Without waiting for a reply, she led the way, only knowing that he was following due to the sound of crunching leaves that trailed behind her. They were now a considerable distance away from the rest of the group - far enough so that their conversation would be private, but close enough that they could still see the clamouring delinquents and the glow of the fire.

"We're far enough," Bellamy decided, grabbing Kyra's arm and stopping her in her tracks. "Start talking."

"What do you want to know, King Blake?" The brunette questioned sarcastically. Bellamy remained stone-faced. "Fine, jeez," Kyra sighed, raising her hands in defence, "you kill one Chancellor and suddenly you think you run this joint."

Bellamy's gaze never faltered as his hand immediately went to rest on the gun tucked into his waistband. "Why would you think I hurt Chancellor Jaha?"

"You're kidding me, right?" Kyra asked with a sharp laugh. "How old do you think I am, Blake?" Bellamy straightened up awkwardly, his eyes scanning her from head to toe whilst looking extremely uncomfortable at having to guess her age. _Well, at least his mother raised him right, _Kyra thought. _Except for the whole 'murderer' part. _"Okay, relax. I'm 21 years old, okay? Do you know what that means?"

A small frown formed on the man's face as he slowly began to put the pieces together.

"You're not a prisoner. "He mumbled, more to himself than to her.

"I'm not a prisoner," she repeated with a nod, "I was just innocently going about my business up on The Ark when I overheard a conversation between Shumway and some guy. And guess what? They were planning to kill the Chancellor. Then, when I came here and heard your voice, I knew it sounded familiar. Add that to the fact that you told your sister you sneaked onto the dropship and the way you're reacting right now, I think it's safe to say that it was you."

Bellamy knew he couldn't deny it. Not now. She knew it was him - knew what he did - but she didn't understand why. He had to make her understand. His hand dropped from his gun and instead chose to rest on her shoulder, almost as if he was going to shake her into believing him.

"Look, I didn't want to kill Jaha, okay? But The Ark was sending prisoners down to the ground and I knew that included my sister. I couldn't let her go down here by herself! I had to be there for her. To look out for her!" Bellamy sighed in defeat, "So Shumway made me a deal."

"Kill the Chancellor and he would get you a place on the dropship," Kyra nodded slowly. Hearing it from Bellamy's point of view made her rethink some things. She felt bad for him - really, she did - but on the other hand, he had killed someone.

"Exactly. "He replied, dropping his hand from her shoulder. "We'd just finished making the plans when we heard a noise from outside the door and Shumway said he'd take care of it... I'm guessing the 'it' was you."

"I dropped a stupid needle." Kyra explained meekly.

"Needle?" Bellamy frowned. "I thought you were an engineer."

Kyra frowned. "Five minutes ago you were asking me what my name was and now you remember my profession?"

"I was a janitor, okay?" Bellamy shrugged. "I saw you around The Ark a few times. Didn't know your name but I recognised your face."

The girl nodded slowly. After the journey she had experienced that day, the fear she felt for Jasper, and the new information she had just received, she was now exhausted.

"Look, I get why you did what you did. But when he found me, Shumway chased me through the halls and knocked me unconscious. I woke up on the dropship, strapped into some chair with this stupid thing on my arm," Kyra raised the hand with the wristband on it in disgust. "I still don't know how he managed to snag one of these, especially for me... Your sorry ass is still the reason why I'm down here. And honestly, I'm not even sure if I'm relieved or pissed. Maybe a bit of both."

Bellamy sighed. "Look, you're not gonna tell anyone, are you? I came down here for a good reason. I did what I had to do to help my sister."

"I won't tell anyone," Kyra decided as she chewed on a piece of loose skin on her bottom lip, "as long as you promise not to tell anyone why I'm here. Clarke is my friend so she'll know that I wasn't a prisoner and that's fine - I can make up some bullshit excuse for her, but with everyone else? If I tell anybody what Shumway did, he said he'd find out. And I know I may not have any family left, but there are still people I care about up on The Ark. And I can't risk them getting hurt."

"I won't tell anyone." Bellamy repeated. His expression had softened when Kyra mentioned her lack of family and it seemed like she had tugged on his heartstrings without even meaning to. "But what are you gonna tell them?"

Kyra shrugged. "With Clarke, I'm not sure. But I'll just tell the others I committed some stupid crime like stealing medicine or something." Despite the darkening sky, the majority of the hundred were still gathered around the fire, being loud and reckless like Kyra would expect of teenagers who had recently been freed from confinement. "It's getting late," she said as she looked up at the sky. "At least I think it is... I'm gonna go find some place to sleep."

"Right." Bellamy nodded as she brushed past him and headed back to the group. His head was still reeling from the fact that someone knew what he did but he trusted Kyra. He had no choice but to trust her, really.

"Hey, Quinn."

Kyra paused and turned back to face her new acquaintance. "Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Although it looked like it had physically pained him to say it, Kyra took the comment with a slightly awkward nod before continuing back to camp. It had been a very long day for everyone, and she needed to sleep. Preferably for several hours.


End file.
